The City of Darkness
by FFP
Summary: Jonny, Jessie and their parents decide to go on a short trip to visit one of Dr. Quest's old classmates. However, a mysterious murder may complicate matters.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest and all of its characters are copyrighted by Hanna Barbara. I do not own any of the characters from this show.**

**Background: **Following up after my previous 4 stories, the Quest kids are on their summer vacations. Hadji was dropped off in Bangalore after the "Story of the Ruins" story for a few weeks. Jonny and Benton remained with him for a few days and after seeing that he had somewhat recovered from the previous episode, return to Maine, to join Race, Jessie and Estella. Following the events of "Dream Quest", Jonny, Jessie and their parents decide to go on a short trip to visit one of Dr. Quest's old classmates. Unfortunately, this visit may not end well.

The City of Darkness

It was late at night. The full moon shone upon the town, casting a pale light upon the cobbled streets of the town.

Not a soul stirred on the streets, although if any residents were presently indoors, it would be hard to begrudge them for staying there. Only fools would venture out into those dishevelled streets alone at night. Although the moon was full, barely any light reached street level. This was due to the shadows cast by the Gothic structures, which surrounded both sides of the streets that ran along the town centre.

The buildings and architecture only added to the ominous atmosphere, casting shadows of the sharp spires and menacing statues, which seem to follow you down the road.

Suddenly there was a loud sound. A distant clock tower tolled twice, signalling the passing of another hour in the deserted stretch of civilisation. The sound of the clock tower's bells echoed maliciously throughout the dark streets, appearing to get louder, the further it went from the tower. Not a soul, be it human or animal, seemed to respond to this disturbance.

However, an event in the town's centre stirred life into the once dead streets. A rope was silently flung down the side of one of the buildings from an upstairs window. A dark figure emerged from the alleyway between this building and the one next to it. The figure took hold of the rope and swiftly climbed up, into a room.

Silently, it crept out of the room and opened the door of the room opposite to the one it had entered. A middle aged man slept soundly on the bed at the centre of the room, but it seemed that his sleep was about to be extended indefinitely. The silent figure stood over the man's sleeping form. It gently lifted the blanket which covered the man's body, to reveal that he was wearing an ornate necklace. The necklace appeared to have a coin, adorned with a skull attached to it. The intruder briefly gazed at the necklace and, after ascertaining that it had found what it was looking for, attempted to gently remove it from the man's neck.

However, this was proving difficult. As the intruder pulled at the necklace in an attempt to remove it from around the man's neck, he was awoken by the sudden tug at the ornament around his neck.

This was unfortunately the last time he would physically open his eyes again. He stared at the intruder for a moment, still not entirely awake, and then tried to scream for help. He knew what was happening. He had expected thieves to try to take away this mysterious possession of his. Sadly, it was too late to alert anyone. His scream was muffled by a strong, bony hand that was placed on his face, as another hand appeared to draw a blade. The man's eyes widened. Even in the dark, he could make out the glint of the weapon.

His attacker was quick and professional. Although it was dark, he had examined his victim and knew exactly where to strike if lethal force became necessary for him to complete his mission. He stabbed the man once in the sternum, penetrating the heart with his blade. To make sure that the dying victim would not alert anyone else as to what happened in the room and to make sure that he would never walk out of there alive, the attacker kept his hand clasped tightly to the man's face until the attacker finally felt him attempt to draw his final breath.

With the kill confirmed, the assailant withdrew the blade and, snatching the necklace, exited the same way he came in. He turned swiftly and ran back into the alley from whence he had first emerged. There was a sudden sound of an engine starting. A bright light shined onto the once darkened main street, illuminating it. The assailant burst out of the alley on a motorcycle, riding down the street. Its work was done – for now...

**The rest of the story is coming within a few days. Stay tuned!**


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, early in the evening...

A single land cruiser drove along the winding mountain road. The driver held the vehicle in line with the lane perfectly – he had to. Any single wrong move could send the vehicle and everyone in it to a scenic and dramatic grave.

Inside the car, Race Bannon struggled to keep the car in check. This drive on the Transfăgărășan, one of the most dramatic roads in the world, made him nervous. Meanwhile, Benton Quest relaxed in the passenger seat, while Jonny and Jessie spent their time staring out of their windows, at the marvellous landscape and the winding roads which lay ahead. Estella sat next to Jessie. She seemed to be distracted by other thoughts.

The road seemed to swerve around and over mountains for mile, providing many dangerous corners that needed to be negotiated calmly. 'Negotiating' and 'calm' unfortunately, were words that don't often make it into the Bannon family dictionary.

However, as long as Race kept his concentration, he was sure they'd make it off the ominous road. As long as everyone was silent, he thought...

"So dad, tell us..." Jonny wasn't able to finish his statement. What Jonny said was innocent enough, but Race couldn't stand it. He drove erratically when feeling uneasy – this was proven when he nearly took out himself and Hadji when searching for Jessie after the plane crash. There was something about this trip that made him feel uneasy. Not to mention, the narrow and swerving mountain road made wasn't helping sooth his nerves.

The sudden sound of Jonny's voice made him speed up. The vehicle moved at a high speed towards the guard railing, but, just before anything could go wrong, he managed to gain control of himself again. Race braked hard and swerved to the right, narrowly avoiding the railing.

"Slow down, dad" Jessie called from the back. Race took a deep breath and gently slowed down the car to a more manageable speed. Benton Quest seemed to not have noticed the strange mood his friend was in.

Sensing it was safe to complete his question, Jonny decided he could ask his dad now. "So dad, could you tell us more about Dr. Pribak?" he enquired.

Dr. Quest responded to his son's question. "Martin Pribak is a connoisseur of Romanian culture and history" Dr. Quest said. "He's preserved many artefacts from this country's past. I thought visiting him would be a good way to continue our trip".

"Are you sure this guy's alright, Benton?" Race asked. He had seen enough of Dr. Quest's friends lose their great minds in the past and end up on a collision course with the old man and his family.

"Yes, Dr. Pribak's an old friend, Race" Dr. Quest said, soothingly. "I'm sure this trip will go well".

Eventually, the car's satnav (GPS) guided them off the mountain road, to an older, unpaved road. "We just need to follow this road, into the next village" Dr. Quest informed the other occupants. It had been a long time since Dr. Quest had made the acquaintance of Dr. Pribak. He was looking forward to meeting an old contact who hadn't been corrupted by greed or power, something which happened far too often to his friends.

As they drove on, the potholes on the road kept getting larger in size and the cracks increased in length, until the road was no more than a glorified horse track. Then, in the distance, Race spotted a large, dark mass. As they neared it, it became apparent that this mass was the same town where the murder had been committed the night before.

"Martin said he'd meet us in the town centre" Dr. Quest said. Race nodded and followed the road towards the centre. The roads in the town were cobbled. Although they appeared to be well maintained, unlike the roads directly outside, they bore a forlorn look, suggesting that they had seen better times in the past.

Race drove on for a minute, until they reached a large square, with an old fashioned farmer's market. This appeared to be the town's centre. As they drove past the market, they noticed a large group of people gathered around the entrance to one of the buildings. "I wonder what's going on here" Jonny said inquisitively. Race stopped the car near the building. The group disembarked from the vehicle and slowly approached the crowd. They noticed a horse drawn carriage by the building's entrance. It seemed as if something heavy, covered in sheets was being loaded into the back of the carriage.

"Do you remember what this guy looks like, Doc?" he asked.

Dr. Quest nodded. He hadn't seen the man for quite a while, but was sure he could recognise his friend, even in this crowd.

"Alright, we might as well start looking for him then" Race said. He trudged on past the crowd, followed closely by Estella and Dr. Quest. Jonny and Jessie walked just behind the rest of the group.

As they walked towards the crowd, someone caught hold of Dr. Quest's shoulder. Jonny and Jessie saw this and cautiously moved towards the man responsible. As the Doctor turned towards the man however, his face brightened and broke into a grin. Race and Estella turned around to make see what the others were doing, when they spotted Dr. Quest with his old friend.

"It's been a long time, Benton" the man said, clasping Dr. Quest's hand in his own. Jonny took note of the man's appearance. He appeared to be in a night dress and didn't seem to have shaved recently. He looked tired, with his eyes sunk into the back of his head. He seemed to be of a similar age to Dr. Quest, except for the fact that he had lost all of his hair, making him appear older.

"Everyone, this is Dr. Martin Pribak" Dr. Quest called out to the others. Then, noticing his friend's condition, the Doctor's expression changed to one of confusion. "What's happened here, Martin?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"Terrible things, Benton" the man replied, gravely. Pribak looked around the crowd nervously, as if looking for someone.

"Come to my room" the man said, speaking barely in a whisper. Then, still looking around, as if expecting to see someone, he led the group into the building where the murder had taken place the night before. It was the same building outside which the crowd was gathered.

The building appeared to be a hotel, or lodging facility of some sort. Pribak had only a solitary room to himself. He led them into his room, and quickly bolted the door. There didn't seem to be any electric lights in the room, or for that matter, the entire building. Pribak had closed the curtains beforehand, giving the room a dark, gloomy feel.

"Please, all of you sit down" Dr. Pribak said, starting to sound a bit more relaxed. There was not much seating available in the room. Estella and Dr. Quest sat on the only available chairs, while Jonny and Jessie sat on the bed. Race however, remained standing. He had a gut feeling that Pribak was trying to hide something from the rest of them. As far as Race was concerned, the only reason he didn't have the man tied to a chair and under interrogation was the fact that he was an old friend of Dr. Quest's.

Race was still preparing to question the man, when Dr. Quest took matters into his own hands. "Martin, what's going on here?" he asked, sounding perturbed. He had never seen his friend look so distressed before.

Pribak looked around at the people in the room. "Can I trust all of them?" he asked Dr. Quest, giving everyone an accusing glance. Jonny and Jessie stood up, feeling insulted that the man thought they had any intention of harming him. Dr. Quest and Estella remained seated, while Race glared at Pribak.

"Come on doc, we're leaving" Race said coldly.

However, before anyone could step out of the room, Dr. Quest stopped them. "Not yet, Race" he said calmly. "Martin, these people are my family. If you can't trust them, then I'm not worthy of your trust either".

Everyone looked on intently as Pribak took a deep breath. He decided it was in his best interest to tell them his entire story. "Alright, you can all stay" he said, sounding exasperated.

"A few weeks ago, my assistant, Raleigh and I were exploring an ancient burial site we found near a ruined castle" he started. "When we entered, Raleigh noticed a large casket in the site, which, after much effort, we managed to open. Inside it we found a corpse, with a golden necklace, the likes of which we had never seen before".

Pribak momentarily stopped talking. He walked towards a drawer and pulled it open. From this drawer, he extracted a case. He opened the case to reveal a golden necklace, almost identical to the one worn by the man who had been killed earlier. "Ever since we took this necklace, we started receiving vague threats. We decided to make a forgery, in case someone tried to steal it. Then, last night, someone broke into this building" Pribak said. He appeared to be getting more nervous by the minute. Jonny was certain that any sudden sound would give him a heart attack. "My assistant kept the fake one. The intruder tracked him down and took the necklace. Raleigh, alas, is no more".

Race thought back to earlier, when they had noticed the crowd gathering around something being loaded onto the carriage, outside the building. He realised that the thing under the sheets must have been the body.

"Once they find out they've been deceived, they'll be back" Pribak said ominously.

"Do you have any idea who killed your assistant?" Dr. Quest asked.

Pribak looked warily towards his friend. "I have no idea" he said helplessly. "It is a fine specimen, but I can't work out why it may be so significant for someone".

The group now had a better understanding of why Pribak was being so paranoid. The threats and the murder of his assistant were clearly driving him over the edge.

"Can I examine the necklace?" Estella asked. Pribak glanced at her for a few seconds, and then deciding that she was trustworthy, handed her the case with the necklace inside.

Estella stared at it intently for a few seconds. "This emblem looks intruguing" she said, sounding interested.

Pribak nodded. "It's a symbol of death" he said.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Pribak froze, with an expression of fear on his face. He started to shake and began sweating, even though it was relatively cool in the room. Jessie whispered something into her mother's ear. Estella nodded and handed the necklace case to Jessie. Race motioned to everyone to stay still. He carefully approached the door. "Who's there?" he called out.

"It's Dmitri" a deep voice called out from behind the doorway. "I want to speak to Dr. Pribak".

Pribak relaxed a bit. His shoulders drooped slightly and his face formed an expression of relief. "We can let him in" he said to Race.

Race cautiously opened the door. A tall, thin, clean shaven man with a gaunt face walked in. His hair was greying; however, he still looked relatively young, maybe about 40 years old.

Pribak introduced the man to the others. "This is Dmitri Chekov" Prybak said, sounding slightly more comfortable.

Dmitri walked into the room, evidently surprised to find so many people in there.

"This is quite a surprise, Doctor" the man said, looking towards Pribak. "I didn't expect you to have so much company".

"These are the friends I told you about" the man replied. "Dmitri is the man who translated the symbol on the necklace" Pribak said to the others in the room. "He was staying just across the hall from where my assistant was lodging".

Dmitri walked towards the Doctor and put his hand on Pribak's shoulder. "I just came here to say that if you need any help after today, I will be able to assist you". The man then proceeded to walk back to the door.

"Now if you excuse me, I will go back into my room to get some rest" Dmitri said, walking out of the room.

As soon as the door was shut, Race took charge of the situation. "We need to make sure no one comes in here" he said.

"Doc, you stay here with Pribak. We need someone to watch the building's entrance" Race said, authoritatively.

"Jessie and I can keep watch outside" Jonny said excitedly. Jessie seemed surprised at his suggestion. Race looked at the 2 of them. He was suspicious that they might be up to something.

"You can go" Race said. As the 2 of them started moving towards the door, he quickly added "As long as there's an adult with you".

"Estella, could you join us?" Jonny asked.

Estella was unsure of what to make of this request, but wanted to see what Jonny had in mind. "Yes, of course Jonny" she said. She looked towards Race and shrugged. The 3 of them walked out of the room.

"I'll keep watch outside Dmitri's room" Race said. "There's something about that man that makes me nervous".

When they were out of earshot of the room, Jessie looked at Jonny. He wore a wide grin on his face. "Alright Jonny, tell us – why did you want us to go outside?" she asked suspiciously.

"I just thought that maybe we should have guards outside" he replied, almost sarcastically. Jessie knew he was hiding something. For once she was in no mood to argue with him.

"Just spit it out, Quest" she said.

Jonny's grin widened. "I know that neither of you trust Dr. Pribak at all, but don't you think it was a bit harsh to put your tracking device in his case?" he smirked.

Jessie and Estella stopped walking. "How did you find out?" Jessie asked. She was sure she had hidden the device well enough, but didn't think anyone would be watching her.

"Let's just say I was keeping a close eye on you" he replied mockingly.

Estella decided to cut in before the conversation got any more embarrassing. "Stop it, both of you. There is something wrong with this whole story" she said. The 2 teenagers stopped their bickering and started listening to Estella.

"I've read about Romanian folklore before" she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "Whatever the symbol on the coin is, it is not the sin of death" she added, sounding slightly angry.

Both Jonny and Jessie were puzzled. "Then what is it?" Jessie asked.

Estella looked sternly at the 2 teenagers. "I don't know, but I feel Mr. Dmitri may not be trustworthy".

"Oh and Jonny" Estella hastily added. "When you figured out our trick, why were you staring at my daughter?" she asked, somewhat playfully.

Jonny blushed slightly, at the question, while Jessie started giggling. "Well go on, Jonny" she said. "Why were you staring?" she asked gleefully, finding his embarrassment amusing.

Jonny tried to regain his composure. "I'll tell you" he said, trying to put on a stronger front. "But let's check the downstairs area first". Jonnt ran down the stairs, to the building's lobby. The 2 women glanced at each other, and then shared a laugh before heading downstairs. When they got down however, they found Jonny standing at the doorway, not moving.

Jessie knew that something was wrong. She moved swiftly, but cautiously towards the exit where Jonny was standing. "Jonny" she called out.

"Are you alright?" Estella asked, following Jessie.

Jonny snapped out of his shocked state when he heard their voices. He looked back at the 2 of them. By now, Jessie was right beside him. She looked out onto the road where he had been staring. The crowd was now non-existent. Not a single soul was on the streets. Jessie saw what he had been looking at and let out a short gasp. Their land cruiser had been vandalised. There was writing in red on the front windscreen. Neither of the 2 wanted to find out what the message had been written in. The words "Get out or risk death" had been hastily scrawled onto the car. Estella reached them and saw the message.

Jonny stepped towards the car and felt the writing. The liquid had not yet dried. The writing was fresh, he discovered. He started looking around wildly, but so no one. The town seemed well and truly deserted, as it had the night before.

"They must be nearby" he announced. He looked like he was about to start a search for the culprits himself, before Jessie grabbed his wrist.

"Hold on, Hotshot" she said. "We can't just run off like this".

Estella put her hand on his shoulder. "Jessie is right. We need to inform your father and Race of what has happened" she said calmly, soothing the boy's nerves.

"Alright" he replied. "But we need someone to stay here and make sure no one enters the building.

"We can keep watch out here, mom" Jessie suggested. "You go tell dad and Dr. Quest".

Estella was not used to following orders from her daughter, but decided that this was the best compromise she could hope for from the 2. "Alright" she said. "But both of you must stay right here". Estella jogged back into the building and went swiftly up the staircase.

Jonny and Jessie stood just inside the main entrance. Barely seconds after Estella left however, Jessie heard a soft thud sound. She motioned to Jonny to follow. It seemed like he was about to ask her something, but she put her finger to her lips, stopping him. Jessie slowly opened the door. She looked out and saw no one around the building, but even in the evening gloom, managed to see something long and thin extending from one of the rooms to the street. "It's a rope" she said, quietly.

Jonny saw the same thing. However, he noticed something else which made him feel nervous. He saw what appeared to be a dark figure appearing from the alley, by the building. "Hide" he whispered, pulling Jessie back into the doorway. Jonny held Jessie close, so that they could stay out of view from the road. Their faces were barely inches apart. Both of them didn't seem uncomfortable with the situation, however. "What did you see?" Jessie asked silently, slightly surprised by his sudden reaction, but otherwise she was calm.

"There's someone outside" Jonny whispered, still holding her.

Both of them stayed quiet for a second and heard what appeared to be footsteps outside. Suddenly, a loud voice broke out, practically sending an electric shock through both their systems. "What on Earth is going on here?" Race Bannon shouted from across the lobby. He had come downstairs, expecting to find their vehicle vandalised, instead finding his daughter in the arms of Jonny. He was tolerant with both of them, compared to others who had faced his wrath, but he wasn't expecting to find them in a tight hug, when they were all at the mercy of a potential gang of murderers. Estella followed close behind him, surprised at her husband's reaction.

The intruder must have been alerted, Jonny thought. Him and Jessie swiftly released each other and ran outside. When they emerged from the building, they found that the figure was gone.

Race and Estella followed them out. "What's going on here?" Race asked, sounding annoyed.

"Someone's trying to get in" Jonny said breathlessly. "Look!" he said, pointing up to the window from whence the rope was initially thrown out. The figure seemed to be climbing in through there.

Race recognised the room. It was the last room on the third floor. He had just been standing outside it. "That's Dmitri's room" he said coldly. "You all stay out here" Race called out to them, as he ran back into the building.

Meanwhile, Dr. Quest sat with Pribak, who held the case by his chest. There was a knock on the door. "It's Dmitri" the man called out, in his familiar nasal voice. Dr. Quest walked up to the door and opened it. He was instantly punched square in the face. The Doctor was hit with enough force to knock him down onto his back. His head hit the ground as he fell, knocking him unconscious. A man walked into the room. He was dressed in dark grey combat overalls. He was of average height and well built, although it was hard to make out his features in the dark. One particularly startling physical feature he had was a snake, tattooed onto his shaved head, extending over his eyebrow. Dr. Quest and Pribak did not know it yet, but it was the same person who had stabbed Dr. Pribak's assistant the day before. He drew a short sword from his belt. Dmitri followed close behind, with a wide grin on his face. Pribak knew he had been betrayed.

"You had Raleigh killed?" Pribak asked, surprised. He held the case with the necklace close to his chest and backed into a corner of the room.

"It took you long enough to work that out" Dmitri replied, with a smirk. "Now, my friend, hand over that little case in your hands" he said, pointing towards the case holding the necklace. "Come on, give it up or your friend dies" he said menacingly. Almost as if on cue, the man with the sword knelt down over Dr. Quest's limp form, preparing to stab him.

"Alright, you win. Just let us live" Pribak pleaded. Reluctantly, he tossed the case towards Dmitri. Dmitri opened it to make sure that the necklace was there. However, he found another item in the case as well. He pulled out a watch from the case. It was Jessie's tracking device. "You can keep this" he said, tossing it to Pribak. "For old time's sake" he exclaimed loudly, now laughing.

Dr. Quest appeared to be stirring. However, just as he straightened himself, the swordsman punched him again, putting him out for a few more moments.

Dmitri and the swordsman walked out of the room. They soon realised that they should have worked a lot faster. Race Bannon was standing in the hallway, staring at them like a hungry wolf. The swordsman, not one to be intimidated, drew his weapon. Dmitri, meanwhile, ran to his room and hastily shined a light down the road. Jonny noticed this from downstairs.

"What do you think is going on up there?" he asked Jessie.

"I have no idea" she replied. They both started moving, almost as if on instinct, towards the rope they had seen being climbed.

However, Estella stood in front of them.

"Jessie, your father told us to wait out here for a reason" she said sternly.

Jonny and Jessie both backed down. It wasn't often that they were supervised so closely and they weren't feeling particularly happy with the situation. They were still going to follow orders however, as long as there was someone around watching them.

Back upstairs, Race stared down the 2 men, who ran out of the room. Dr. Quest still lay on the floor. He was now conscious, but was having trouble standing up. He felt as if he was concussed. Prybak on the other hand, was cowering in a corner of the room. The day's events, coupled with Dmitri's betrayal and the theft of the coin left him a broken man.

"Cover me!" Dmitri shouted to the other man, as he ran off towards his room. The swordsman drew his blade and stepped closer to Race. He slashed wildly, trying to carve up the former agent, but Race managed to narrowly avoid the vicious attack.

The assailant tried to stab Race. Race moved swiftly to his right, avoiding the strike. He grabbed the man's sword hand, preventing any further attempts to use the blade, and aimed a punch of his own at the assassin's head. However, the man easily avoided the blow.

He followed up by elbowing Race hard in the jaw. Race's head rebounded off the wall behind him. The force of the initial blow and of his head bouncing off the wall knocked him off his feet.

The man raised his sword, ready to finish off Race. Race looked up at the man who was about to take his life. His only comfort was that at least his daughter didn't have to see him die. Just before the assassin could land the killing stroke however, Race saw an arm being wrapped tightly around the man's neck. Dr. Quest stood behind the attacker, trying to take him down. The man brushed this attempt aside and nonchalantly threw the Doctor off his back. Before he could use his weapon however, Race swept his legs out from under him, knocking him down.

He lost grip on his blade as he fell. It clattered to the ground a few feet away from him. Now finding himself unarmed and outnumbered, he fled towards Dmitri's room and the rope attached to it, hoping to make an escape, with Race following in pursuit. Dr. Quest, still dazed on account of his concussion, tried to follow, but found it hard to get back on his feet. Prybak finally emerged from his room, with a determined look on his face. He walked briskly towards Dr. Quest, who lay helplessly on the floor.

Back outside, Jonny, Jessie and Estella stood outside, waiting to see someone emerge from the building. "That's it, I'm going in" Jessie said, defiantly. She had waited too long and was about to run into the building to help her father, regardless of what their orders were. Just as she was about to go in however, she was stopped by Jonny's voice.

"Look!" he called, pointing up towards the room with the rope. He caught a glimpse of a shadow emerging from the room and could clearly see someone slide swiftly down it. The man had apparently not noticed them. Just before he landed, Jonny pounced on him, knocking him down. Jessie and Estella followed him, grabbing the man's arms and legs, pinning him to the ground. Through his struggling, Jonny caught a glimpse of the man's face. "It's Dmitri" he grunted, holding the man's head and shoulders down onto the sidewalk. Just as it appeared that he was secured however, 2 men on motorcycles tore down the road towards the group. Hearing the noise, Jessie looked up towards them. She could make out the drivers' uniforms in their headlights.

They appeared to be policemen. Jessie felt relieved at the sight. The cavalry had finally arrived, although she was a bit surprised at the fact that they hadn't bothered to turn on their sirens.

The bikes stopped a few feet away from the group. Dmitri's struggling eased as the men closed in. Jonny took this as a sign of submission and loosened his grip on the man's head. There was no way Dmitri could run now.

"Good to see you guys could make it" he said. However, out of the corner of his eye, he saw another figure emerge from the window. The person expertly slid down the rope and stood facing the group gathered in front of him.

Jonny looked up towards the man. It appeared to be the same person whom he had briefly seen climb up the rope. He was surprised that the officers hadn't taken any action yet. Before he could react however, the man who had just climbed down the rope kicked Jonny just underneath his ribs. It was not a particularly hard kick, but it was enough to knock the wind out of Jonny.

Jessie and Estella released their grip on Dmitri, standing up to defend themselves. "Why aren't you arresting him?" Estella asked angrily, as she turned to the policeman. Before she could say another word, one of the men pulled her into him and held a gun to her head. "Stay back" the officer said to Jonny and Jessie. "Or I'll make sure she never sees the daylight again". Both of them backed off. Dmitri and the rest of the men slowly got onto their bikes, with one man still pointing his weapon at Estella.

Race was now in Dmitri's bedroom. He looked around the place. It was as big as Prybak's room, but was noticeably lacking any personal effects that may belong to the man. He looked out of the window. It was nearly pitch black outside, with the only light on the street coming from the building's entrance. Race could see a few figures in the darkness, but couldn't make out who they were. He heard the sound of motorcycles driving off. Fearing that the kids may have been kidnapped or worse, he slid down the rope quickly, barely feeling the skin burns on both palms of his hands.

"Jessie?" he called out, as he landed.

Jessie was relieved to hear her father's voice at last. "Over here, dad" she said. Jessie knelt beside her mother, helping her stand up by roadside. It appeared that the attackers had flung her aside when they had no use for her.

Jonny was standing next to Jessie. They helped Estella to her feet. She had a few bruises and scrapes from the fall, but seemed alright.

Jonny, although relieved that everyone seemed to have survived, still had a thought on his mind.

"Race, is dad alright?" he asked.

Race was unsure of the answer. The last time he had seen Dr. Quest was when the attacker threw the man off his back. Race had been so caught up in the chase that he didn't even wait long enough to see if the Doctor was alright before pursuing the assailant.

Before Race could give Jonny an answer however, Jonny heard a hoarse voice call out his name from inside.

He recognised the voice, although it sounded quite different from what he was used to.

"Dad!" he exclaimed, running into the building. The rest of the group followed him. They found him standing at the bottom of the staircase, holding his head. Pribak supported Dr. Quest on his shoulder. Jonny and Race helped get the Doctor to a couch and lay him down.

**Note:** I will be a bit busy for a while. I'll try to get the rest of this story up soon. Enjoy the others for the time being


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